Victory for Young Activists & 'The Lorax': Change.Org Helps Students' Petition Reach Hollywood
What an awesome success story! A fourth grade class in New Jersey full of lovers of the classic Dr. Suess environmental tale "The Lorax" took on a big foe: Hollywood.
Excited to learn that "The Lorax" was coming to theaters, the class went onto the movie's website. To their dismay, there was no information or indication of the book's primary theme involved in the promotion of the movie on the site: the envirnoment. The kids wanted to make sure the adults were getting their favorite book right. So, with the help of their teacher Mr. Wells, they launched a petition on Change.org pressuring Universal Studios to revamp the advertising of the movie to include taking care of the environment.
The petition went viral. Over 57,000 people have signed the petition, and hundreds have left comments expressing their admiration for the fourth graders' efforts and their desire to see the book represented properly. The petition reached Hollywood, and they were swayed.
The Lorax movie website now includes tips for kids on how to be green and protect the Earth, and the movie's trailers express the Lorax's desire to "speak for the trees."
Learn more about Mr. Wells' class (who has been invited to a screening of the new movie, by the way), and their victory in the link and video below, and also in this article from Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times.
